MMAFigs.com Official Review: UFC Deluxe Series 3!

PdW2kX Gives His Thoughts on Series 3 in This Official Review for MMAFigs.com!

As the UFC line continues to grow and evolve, Series 3 brought about some major changes, ushered in some good ideas, and marked the inevitable inclusion of re-released figures. Series 3 could be seen as one for the old-school UFC fans, as we received not one but two “Legends” figures as well as a PRIDE figure. Rounding out the set are BJ Penn, Jon Fitch, Thiago Silva, and Karo Parisyan, once again demonstrating Jakks’ ability to prolong its line of UFC figures by not rushing right out of the gate and filling every series with main-event stars. While some still complain about not having their favorite fighters in the first few series, I think releasing more B-level and even C-level fighters, as well as more Legends, PRIDE, and WEC fighters, goes a long way towards giving us an incredibly diverse lineup of MMA action figures. So does Series 3 measure up and fully pull Jakks out of the smoking crater that was the Series 2 debacle, or will it take a few more series before all wounds are healed and all mistakes forgiven? PdW2kX and MMAFigs.com are proud to present an official review of Jakks Pacific UFC Series 3.

First up is Karo Parisyan, and to be honest, he’s the weakest figure of the series. The facial scan is a good resemblance, and his tattoo is nice, but the lack of detail on the shorts makes this a purchase only for Karo fans and completionists. Of the three logos on Karo, two are of the same company. The only redeeming factor of the sparsely-decorated shorts is the giant “Assassin’s Creed” logo on the back, but that’s only due to the surprise that Jakks was able to license such a logo. Of all the figures in Series 3, Karo is by far the easiest to pass up. But I wouldn’t say he’s a horrible purchase or a horrible figure, only that he appeals to a very small portion of the UFC figure fanbase. If you find yourself among that minority, you honestly won’t regret buying this figure. Other fans may want to stay away if they’re pressed for cash or have any other reason for only buying a few figures at a time.

Another B-level fighter in Series 3, Jon Fitch suffers no such problems and is actually a very worthwhile purchase. His facial scan is great and perfectly captures Fitch’s famous snarl. Despite his tattoos being small, they are very detailed. While Fitch does fall into the trap of having more than one logo from the same company on his fight shorts, he does sport an impressive eight official logos, including the Full Tilt Poker logo, which has since been banned as a sponsor. Fans of Fitch will be very happy with this figure, and for the most part, any fan of UFC action figures should be happy to add this to their collection.

Our first Legends figure is Mark Coleman, and to be honest, I don’t think either Legends figure in Series 3 screams “must buy”. Coleman’s lone knee-pad, wrestling shoes, and non-decorated trunks definitely do a great job of capturing “The Hammer” back in the early days of the UFC, but his head scan leaves a lot to be desired. To put it simply, I just don’t think it looks that much like him. It’s a bit too chubby, and sunken in. And, to be honest, his head is gigantic. I’ve mostly stayed out of the debate on whether or not the heads of the UFC action figures are too big, but for this figure I’ve got no choice but to point out how massive the head is. Again, this figure mostly appeals to completionists or fans of the fighter, except with Coleman and Liddell, you can add fans of old-school UFC to the short-list of those who would be interested in purchasing these figures. As with Karo, I want to shy away with calling these bad figures, instead I’ll simply throw out a word of caution for those that can only choose the best figures from Series 3. Coleman isn’t bad, but he’s not the best.

The other Legends figure of Series 3, a classic Chuck Liddell, also isn’t the best figure the series has to offer. In fact, I think this figure was made exclusively for fans of Chuck Liddell. There’s really no other reason one has to buy it: it’s a re-release and features little detail (although that can mostly be forgiven because, like the Coleman figure, the actual attires these figures are based on really did have little-to-no detail). However, I will admit that, if you can only buy one Chuck Liddell figure, it should be this one. Even though the first Chuck Liddell figure has more logos, this figure features an excellent screaming headscan, black Mohawk, and black goatee. Although this figure has by far the most limited appeal of all the Series 3 action figures, anyone who purchases it will most likely be satisfied.

The PRIDE figure of Series 3, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, fares a little better than his Legends counterparts and is a solid investment for any PRIDE or UFC fan, and will most definitely please all the Shogun fans out there. The headscan is dead-on, the tattoos are gorgeous, and the trunks, while sparsely decorated, really capture the feel of old-school, PRIDE-era Shogun. While I honestly wouldn’t consider myself a Shogun fan, time and time again I’ve found myself drawn to this figure. The PRIDE mini-line continues to produce some of the best figures the overall UFC line has to offer, and this Shogun figure is no exception.

The BJ Penn figure is also one of Series 3’s heavy-hitters. The facial scan is once again dead-on, although I’ve heard complaints about the length of BJ’s hair. In truth, it never really bothered me that much. But if you’re a stickler for those kinds of things, I can admit that it is a bit distracting. Penn’s ultra-authentic fight shorts are a welcome addition to the figure, as is the UFC championship belt accessory. To be honest, the belt is done so well that it almost single-handedly justifies the purchase of this figure. It’s a stunning, fantastic recreation of a UFC championship belt, and alongside a figure that has very few flaws, it’s a one-two combo that makes this one of Series 3’s must-haves.

But the crown jewel of Series 3 is and always will be Thiago Silva, who has set an impressive precedent and once again raised the bar for Jakks Pacific UFC action figures. The fight attire is faithfully recreated and benefits from the simple fact that it’s one of the coolest fight trunks I’ve personally ever seen. The facial scan perfectly captures Silva in a “calm before the storm” moment and is a great “non-action” (as opposed to screaming, smirking, etc.) face scan. But it’s the masterfully recreated, fully-colored tattoos that make this figure an absolute must-have. The tattoos are an incredible mix of black, orange, blue, red, green, white, pink, swirls, dragons, flowers, letters, lines…the list goes on and on and on. All of it looks beautiful, all of it is incredibly detailed, and all of it results in one of the best figures Jakks Pacific has ever released in their line of UFC action figures.

In the end, Series 3 has more sure-fire hits (Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Mauricio Rua, and Thiago Silva) than it does almost-there misses (Karo Parisyan, Chuck Liddell, Mark Coleman). Any fan of MMA in general and the UFC/PRIDE in particular should definitely go out and buy Thiago Silva, while the BJ Penn figure is also a must-have simply because it’s very well done and includes a fantastic UFC Championship Belt replica. Jon Fitch and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may not scream “must have” like Silva or Penn, but any UFC action figure fan isn’t wasting a single cent by adding them to their collection. And while the Karo Parisyan, Chuck Liddell, and Mark Coleman figures all suffer from limited appeal, they’re sound investments if you’re a completionist or simply a fan of any of the three. While they may not be the best figures ever, I don’t mind having them as part of my collection and I’m pretty sure you won’t, either.

So, in the end, Series 3 firmly sets Jakks Pacific on the comeback trail. All may not be forgiven, but most is forgotten. Series 3 regains a lot of the momentum Jakks Pacific had, and once again raised the bar with some excellent figures and accessories. My optimism may not be at the all-time high that it was back during UFC Series 0 and 1, but Series 3 went a long way towards restoring my faith in this line. Looking forward, I think Series 3 has laid the groundwork for Jakks to not only recover all the ground it lost from the Series 2 debacle, but even gain new ground and emerge as one of the best action figure lines going today. Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain: the future is bright once again.

Fans interested in purchasing UFC Series 3 are advised to use Ringside Collectibles, the official online retailer of MMAFigs.com. You can order UFC Series 3 by clicking here. And remember, fans of MMAFigs.com get to take ten percent off of their order! Just use the code “MMAFIGS”.

And as always, stay tuned to MMAFigs.com for all the latest UFC and action figure news, views, previews and reviews.